Experimental and Numerical Investigations on the Response of a Multi Tubes and Fins Heat Exchanger under Steady State Operating Conditions

In this study, experimental and numerical investigations on the response a multi tubes and fins heat exchanger under steady state operating conditions have been carried out. A test setup has been developed in order to study the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of this heat exchanger. In accordance with the heat exchanger used for experiments, an identical geometry numerical 3D model has been created. The numerically calculated results have been validated against experimental data in terms of air outlet temperature and pressure drop measured across airside. Moreover, two novel design equations have been developed to predict the heat transfer rate and the pressure drop across the airside, after conducting a comparative numerical study on the airside performance of the multi tubes and fins heat exchanger having plain, louvre and semi-dimple vortex generator (VG).